The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, the answers are as follows:

¶ 02 (a)(i) This Ministry does not have data on school dropouts for the period 2010–2017. From 2018 to 2024, using annual school census data of enrolments in Grades 1–10, the number of dropouts and the attrition ratio have been calculated according to an internationally accepted formula, as follows (Grades 1–10 estimated dropouts): - 2018: 38,839 - 2019: 41,503 - 2020: 32,540 - 2021: 25,492 - 2022: 52,596 - 2023: 50,345 - 2024: 25,823

¶ 03 Special notes: Some children who leave a given school due to inter-provincial transfers, entry to international schools, or migration abroad with family may still be receiving formal education; such movements cannot be fully captured in this calculation.

¶ 04 (a)(ii) Calculations are for Grades 1–10, corresponding broadly to ages 5–15.

¶ 05 (a)(iii) District-wise figures for Grades 1–10 estimated dropouts are provided in the Annex. I table the Annex and have it placed in the Library.

¶ 06 (a)(iv) Major themes of reasons associated with dropout: - Personal reasons - School-related reasons - Family-related reasons - Societal reasons - Engagement in other learning/activities

¶ 07 (Identified through the study “A Study on Trends of Irregular Attendance and School Dropouts of Students” conducted by the Policy and Planning Division in 2024–2025.)

¶ 08 (a)(v) The Compulsory Education Ordinance mandates schooling for ages 5–16. Accordingly, through non-formal education programmes and projects, officials identify children at risk of leaving school and implement school re-entry programmes. The Government also implements multiple welfare programmes to reduce dropout. We acknowledge gaps in effectiveness due to staff shortages and other factors; we are paying special attention, including through upcoming education reforms, to retain children particularly around ages 14–16.

¶ 09 Monitoring: Every two months, School Committees must report data on out-of-school and dropout children in their catchment to the Supervision Committee. Quarterly, the Zonal Director reports to the Provincial Director, and annually Provincial Directors report consolidated figures, actions taken, and re-entries.

¶ 10 To address process gaps, we have launched education digitization. Phase 1 (launched this Saturday) digitizes teacher data; Phase 2 will digitize student data to enable better, timelier analytics.

¶ 11 (b)(i) Not applicable. (b)(ii) Not applicable.

¶ 12 (c) Not applicable.